


A Needle To The Heart

by Zakani_Donovan



Series: Ineffably Yours (Ineffable Husbands AU Week 2020) [1]
Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, Aziraphale Likes Crowley (Good Omens), Crowley Likes Aziraphale (Good Omens), Fluff, Gay, Human AU, Ineffable Husbands (Good Omens), Ineffable Husbands AU Week 2020, Insecurities, M/M, Meet-Cute, accepting yourself, good omens - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:21:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26448460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zakani_Donovan/pseuds/Zakani_Donovan
Summary: Anthony is a tattoo artist and Aziraphale is looking to get his first tattoo. Anthony quickly becomes attached (and attracted) to this new client.
Relationships: Aziraphale & Crowley (Good Omens), Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)
Series: Ineffably Yours (Ineffable Husbands AU Week 2020) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1922614
Comments: 8
Kudos: 57





	A Needle To The Heart

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jenanigans1207](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jenanigans1207/gifts).



> Day 1 of Ineffable Husbands AU Week 2020. 
> 
> Prompts to choose from: Coffeeshop AU and/or Tattoo Parlor AU. 
> 
> Prompt chosen: Tattoo Parlor AU.

Anthony J. Crowley had gone to work, as he did every morning, but today was certainly different. As he finished up with his last appointment for the day, the bell above the entrance to "Forbidden Fruit: Tattoo & Piercing Parlor" rang, signaling the arrival of another customer. He finished attending the young woman at the register before turning his attention to the man.

The gentleman who had crossed the threshold didn't look anything like his usual clientele. There were no skinny and ripped jeans, sneakers or boots, baggy top, or a leather jacket. The man was only a bit shorter than him, wearing a tan colored suit. He was tall, chubby, had fair skin, a white-blond head of curls, and bright blue eyes. So bright that Anthony's attention was solely on them and didn't even notice when the woman he had just inked walked out of the shop. It's only after hearing the bell that he snapped out of it.

"What can I do for ya, mate? I'm about to close." Said the redhead. There was no threat or annoyance in his voice, he was just stating a fact.

Immediately, a small surge of panic washed over the blond. He was twiddling with his fingers now. "Oh! So sorry. I didn't see any working hours on the window, I assumed you were one of the establishments that closed up late. I can come back some other time, if you like. You see, I wish to get a tattoo. It would be my first and I've heard many good things about your skills. Plus, I work at the doctor's office around the corner, so I thought I could see the place for myself before committing to a design..."

He was rambling, most likely because of his nerves. Anthony knew the type. Not to mention the way he dressed, it'd make you think the man had no desire to mark his skin in any way. Also: 'Establishments'? Who the hell was this guy and why did he talk like that? It's just a tattoo parlor.

Anthony raised a brow, sitting on a barstool which was behind the register. He cleared his throat. "Yeah, that might be better. I work by scheduled appointments so, let me pencil you in for a consultation." He said, taking out a large black notebook.

"I've got a space open for tomorrow at 11:30, just before I go to lunch. That good for you?"

He seemed to think it over. "Tomorrow's Friday, my day off, yes should be fine, dear boy." Only the last bit was directed at Anthony, clearly he was just voicing the previous facts out loud to himself.

'Dear boy'? No customer had ever referred to him like that before. He wasn't sure if he liked it or not. The nervous man's lovely appearance was making him lean towards the former.

Anthony gave him a nod before scribbling some chicken-scratch which resembled the word 'consultation' and opening a parenthesis. "Name?"

"Oh, full name or just the first one?"

The redhead shrugged. "Whatever you prefer. You could call yourself 'Sean Connery' for all I care."

That got a laugh out of him, and good lord, Anthony regretted it immediately. Now all he wanted to do was crack jokes to see and hear that lovely laugh again. Not something you can do when you're going to be inking someone. Once the giggling stopped, the blond noticed Anthony was looking at him expectantly, pen still ready to write. Now it was the blond who cleared his throat.

"Just write down 'A. Z. Fell'." He told him. Anthony did as told and closed the parenthesis afterwards.

With that, he closed the notebook, grabbed a small business card from the corner of the counter and slid it his way. "Here. That's my number, call or text me ahead of time if you're gonna cancel or reschedule. That way, I know not to wait up and I can get some other stuff done."

The blond man took it, placing it in his jacket's pocket before giving him a warm, albeit nervous, smile. "Thank you. I'll get out of your hair now. See you tomorrow."

And just like that, he was gone. Anthony didn't quite know what to make of this A. Z. Fell but he was intrigued, no doubt. He locked up shop and headed upstairs to his flat.

~~~~~

The following day, Anthony was cleaning his station when the bell from the front door rang out. Thanks to the thundering footsteps he heard, he didn't even have to look back to know who had just walked into his shop.

As he turned around, he was greeted by four young and smiling faces. He couldn't help but grin back. "Aren't you all eager? You're 20 minutes early! Also: why are you cutting school to get nose piercings? That's just asking for you to get in trouble." 

"We're eighteen, why would this get us into trouble?" Asked Adam, whose idea it was to do this.

"Well, maybe not trouble, per say. Certainly a good nagging from your mothers." Said the tattoo artist.

The girl, Pepper, rolled her eyes. "You're probably right. Although, it'll be worth it. I'll look **so** wicked with my nose ring!"

"You'd better. It's **my** work, after all. As long as it looks great, I get good business. Alright, who's first?"

The teenagers argued for a moment before Pepper jumped into the chair. With Adam, Brian and Wensleydale groaning for not thinking of that themselves, they sat back and watched as Anthony disinfected Pepper's nose and the equipment. She didn't even flinch, Anthony was very impressed with her.

She got a septum, Adam got a rhino, Brian got an Austin bar and Wensleydale got a simple nostril. The quartet left the shop happily as the tall and chubby blond man from last night returned. The skinny parlor owner grabbed one of the sketch pads before gesturing for him to sit on the chair.

"So, Mr. Fell. Tell me what you want."

"Well, I was wondering: May I see some of your previous examples of quote work?"

"Sure." He said, rolling over to a filing cabinet. He took out a photo album. In it were some of his best tattoos, piercings and sketches. Some pieces had words, he didn't have many quotes, but the ones he had were enough to convince the blond.

"Oh my, these are simply gorgeous!" He said, caressing the edge of the pages. He glanced up to meet the artist's gaze. "You're very talented, Mr. Crowley." He smiled, and there went Anthony's heart.

The scrawny man felt his face heat up. How was this man so damn cute?! "Thanks... So, what do you want me to write?"

"Oh! Here we are. Just a simple quote from my favorite author." He said, unfolding a small piece of paper.

**_Be yourself. Everyone else is taken._ **

**_-Oscar Wilde_ **

Anthony gave him a curt nod. "Alright. That's simple enough for a first tattoo. Black and white or colored ink?"

"Is it possible you could do a bit of a rainbow effect on the letters?" Asked Fell.

The ginger gave him a nod. "Of course. Do you mean one color per letter or all six basic colors into every single letter?"

"Is it possible for you to make it look like a spectrum across the whole quote?"

"Sure. Want me to start with warm colors or cool?"

The chubby man looked confused for a moment, as if he hadn't anticipated that question. "Cool colors, please." Be supplied.

"Alright. Any particular font you want me to use? Cursive or no?" He asked, eyebrow raised.

Fell shook his head. "No cursive. I'd like to read it clearly, even when out of focus."

"Okay. Where do you want it?" Asked the freckled man.

"Above or **on** the left pectoral muscle, if possible."

Anthony made a mental note of that. "Anything's possible, Mr. Fell. How big do you want the piece?"

"Slightly bigger than it is on this piece of paper, please." 

"Alright, give me a second." Anthony grabbed a sketch pad, wrote the quote in pencil and started going over it with colored pencils. Within minutes, he had a full image of what he understood his client wanted. "How's this?" He asked, turning over the sketch.

A small gasp left the blond and he smiled happily. "This will do nicely!"

"Nothing else you want?"

Mr. Fell stared at the sketch for a moment. He bit his lip, thinking something over. Eventually, he looked up to Anthony again. "Do you think you could, perhaps, shape the whole quote into a heart?"

The redhead said nothing, and got to sketching again. He did two versions, one with an outline for the heart and one without. Upon deciding which he liked best, Fell looked like he was glowing. With the consultation being done, they made another appointment and said their farewells. For the rest of the day, Anthony couldn't get over how adorable he found that man. He felt like a teenager with a crush. It was equal parts amusing and embarrassing. He told his flatmate about it, which, in hindsight, was a bad idea. All Warlock did after finding out was tease him about it. Of course, it wasn't horrible, since he was the only one who knew.

~~~~~

When Mr. Fell came back, he was visually more nervous than his first two times inside the parlor. He kept wringing his hands, fussing with his pinky ring, and he was rambling more than ever. Anthony almost felt bad when asking him to shrug off his top so they could get started.

He'd heard most of his nervousness while he disinfected the entire area and all his tools. Mr. Fell didn't seem to mind, seemingly putting this off as much as possible. Not a good sign but he decided to hold off on the whole 'are you sure you want to do this?' bit until everything was ready. Some clients would insist it was all good and dandy until they see the needle about to touch their skin.

Mr. Fell had taken off his jacket, hung it off the back of a nearby chair, he unbuttoned his shirt and folded it neatly before placing it on said chair. He took a deep breath, seemingly psyching himself up, before taking off the white undershirt and giving it the same treatment as the long-sleeved button-up.

Anthony put on a pair of gloves and a mask before approaching him. To his surprise, Mr. Fell had already shaved the area perfectly. Usually he had to do that because 50% of his clients lacked logic. The other 50% were under some kind of influence when they showed up to the parlor. So, he went onto the cleaning bit. The blond nearly jumped at the cold disinfectant.

"Sorry about that, Mr. Fell."

"Oh dear boy, please call me Aziraphale. Putting it crudely, you may as well be on second base right now. We can skip the formalities."

Anthony snorted and almost fell over laughing. Must've been contagious, because soon, Aziraphale was laughing along with him.

Eventually, they both calmed down enough to continue with the actual tattoo. Aziraphale soon realized he was even more sensitive than he previously estimated. The scrawny artist had barely finished the outline for 'Be' and he was close to quitting because the poor man looked like he was being tortured.

"You're sure you want me to keep going? I can stop right now. I even got the number of a doctor who can remove this, if you're having buyer's remorse."

The blond man wiped away the tears from his eyes with his palm. "I appreciate your concern, Mr. Crowley, but this is something I need to do."

"You **need** an Oscar Wilde tattoo? Gotta admit, I've never heard of that one before..."

"Truthfully speaking, I don't believe you'd understand..."

"Try me." He challenged.

The blond man stammered a bit, still trying to fight back tears. "Well. You see... It's personal-"

Anthony's hands went up. "Ah-ah, it's fine. I just need to to know you still want this."

"I do. Very much." Said Aziraphale with a sigh, trying to calm down.

The tattoo artist nodded and reached over to a tissue box before offering him one. After the blond accepted it, Anthony got him a cup of water. "Alright, here's what we're going to do: We're gonna split this up into multiple sessions. That way, you only go through a small amount of pain every time you're here. It'll take longer, sure, but you won't feel or look like you're dying. What do you think?"

Aziraphale was visibly relieved to hear that and was calming down noticeably. "...I think you're a very considerate person. Thank you, Mr. Crowley."

"Call me Anthony." Said they ginger with a smile.

~~~~~

For the next few weeks, Aziraphale would be his last appointment on Friday nights. With each session, Aziraphale grew more comfortable around Anthony as the days went by, and Anthony enjoyed having Aziraphale in the shop. Not just because he was the client he had to work on the least, but because he was such a good conversationalist. Even when he didn't understand anything that Aziraphale was talking about, he always listened because he found the man incredibly interesting. He was never bored with him.

Once Anthony finished the piece, Aziraphale invited him out to dinner to thank him for being so patient and generous when he didn't **have** to be. During their meal, the subject about the meaning behind tattoos popped up.

The redhead lightly touched his snake tattoo, smirking. "Yeah, maybe I should've thought it through a bit more, in hindsight. Face tattoos kinda make it easy for people to judge you."

"Just because something is easy, does not mean one should do it." Said Aziraphale after taking a sip from his wine glass.

The skinny man shrugged with a nod. "True, but that doesn't stop them. Anyway, it was just me rebelling. It's also a bit of a joke. Warlock, my flatmate? We grew up together and he always said I was a snake in a human costume because of how I walked and sat. Can you believe that?"

Aziraphale chuckled. "I certainly can."

"Oi!" He snapped playfully.

The blond was still smiling. "Sorry dear boy, but there have been times where I've wondered if you had any bones at all, or whether all which held you up was some kind of cartilage. I've never met someone who bends the way you do."

Anthony desperately tried not to associate that with anything dirty as he cleared his throat. "Anyway, the snake's rebellion. The wings are freedom."

"Wings?" The blond asked with a blink, trying to picture the image in his mind.

"Yeah, have some black angel wings on my back. Got them done once I left home." He said, taking his phone out of his pocket. He scrolled for a bit before turning it over to show Aziraphale.

The photo showed a shirtless Anthony, his back towards the camera while he smugly looked over his right shoulder. The wings were enormous, sprouting from his shoulder-blades to the small of his back. His freckled skin was incredibly pale in contrast to the black ink. The detailing truly was something to marvel at. You could see the outline for every feather, the texture of it, even some specs of white and silver which dripped from the tips of the wings. Stardust.

For a while, Aziraphale was speechless. It took some time and more wine before he stopped gazing at the picture and gave Anthony his phone back. "They're gorgeous... Was it 'freedom' as in: 'I'm finally an adult' or freedom as in: 'I'm done with you and I'm leaving'?"

"A bit of both, really... So, what about yours? Just have a crush on Oscar Wilde?" He asked, locking his phone.

Aziraphale snorted, he was mortified because of it. To Anthony, it was adorable. Nevertheless, he continued. "Well, I do, but that wasn't enough for me to get that permanently written on my flesh."

Anthony leaned onto the table, propping his elbow on top and his chin in the palm of his hand. "So, what **was**?"

"Promise you won't laugh." He demanded.

The ginger man pouted like a child. "Oh, that's not fair. Any time someone says 'don't laugh' it's 'cause it's something hilarious."

Aziraphale found himself smirking. "Promise, or I won't pay for any more of your drinks tonight."

Anthony grinned. The little bastard already noticed his affinity for alcohol. "You drive a hard bargain, Fell." He raised his glass and winked. "Don't worry, I won't laugh."

"Well... I've struggled with my self-esteem for quite some time. It took me a long time to realize those doubts stemmed from past relationships and how I was treated, not how **I** viewed myself..."

The tattoo artist didn't say a word, he just watched him intently. A small nod let Aziraphale know it was safe to continue talking. Which he did, after taking a deep breath. "I like myself. I'm comfortable in my own skin, for the most part. Medically speaking, I am a healthy man, I'm just soft and round. But there are some days where I look at myself in the mirror and think 'what if my past boyfriends were right? I am truly as undesirable as they said?'... I don't like those days. So I thought to myself, 'why not get a physical reminder to help me?' Admittedly, perhaps taping this quote to the mirror would've cost less than getting it drawn onto my skin, but-"

"Since it's on your chest, you don't have to worry about taking that little piece of paper everywhere you go. It's part of you. You can never leave part of you behind." Finished Anthony. He had heard that logic before over the years.

The chubby man smiled, hand over his heart. "...Exactly."

The silence which fell over them was a comfortable one, and Aziraphale appreciated it when Anthony changed the subject to a less somber one, trying to make him laugh. The rest of the night was pleasant, and even though he had no intention of getting a second tattoo or any kind of piercing, they continued to spend time together.

When they weren't going out to dinner or for a stroll in the park, they'd go up to Anthony's flat to drink wine and chat with Warlock. Soon enough, Anthony was asking him out on a proper date. Soon after that, he was kissing the tattoo he had done.


End file.
